With just two games left on the regular season schedule, Louisville needs a win at home against Notre Dame on Wednesday night. But the forecast says the game will be played during the worst of the predicted snowstorm, calling into question how many fans will brave the white stuff and show up.
Here’s the pertinent facts about the game from U of L.
GAME FACTS – Louisville vs. Notre Dame
Date: Wednesday, March 4, 2015
Time: 7:00 p.m.
Site: KFC Yum! Center/Crum Court, Louisville, Ky. (22,000) (80-12 in 5th yr.)
Television: ESPN2 – Bob Wischusen, play-by-play; Dick Vitale, analyst.
Radio: WKRD (790 AM) Paul Rogers, play-by-play; Bob Valvano, analyst (Sirius 91, XM 91)
Series History: Louisville leads 20-12 (12-2 in Louisville, 4-7 in South Bend, 4-3 neutral)
Last Meeting: UofL 69, Notre Dame 57 (March 15, 2013 at Madison Square Garden, Big East Tourn. Semifinal)
UofL National Ranking: 14th USA Today, 16th Associated Press
Officials: Jamie Luckie, Brian Dorsey, Michael Stephens
Next UofL Game: Mar. 7 vs. Virginia, KFC Yum! Center, 6:30 p.m. ET (ESPN)
The Last Meeting
Notre Dame 57
Louisville 69
March 15, 2013
New York, N.Y.
No. 4 Louisville Advances to Big East Championship Game
Russ Smith scored 20 points and Peyton Siva added 12 to lead No. 4 Louisville to a 69-57 victory over No. 24 Notre Dame on Friday night.
Game Notes vs. Notre Dame
Louisville plays its next to the last regular season game of the year as the Cardinals return to the KFC Yum! Center to face Notre Dame on Wednesday. Louisville won its third straight, winning 81-59 at Florida State on Feb. 28 as the Cardinals collected 10 steals and produced scored 32 points off 21 Seminole turnovers.
Louisville has three players averaging double figures. Rozier leads the Cards in scoring with 17.4 points per game. Montrezl Harrell ranks second with 15.4 points, while Wayne Blackshear averages 10.7 points. The Cardinals are solid on the boards, Harrell leads the team with 9.3 rebounds per game. Rozier ranks second on the team in rebounding with 5.4 per game.
Louisville ranks among the nation’s top 30 in nine statistical categories through games of Feb. 28. Individually, Montrezl Harrell is 30th nationally in rebounding (9.3) and 23rd in field goal percentage (.573). Terry Rozier is 30th in steals (2.0) and 65th in scoring (17.4).
Notre Dame (24-5, 16-2 ACC), ranked 11th in the USA Today poll and 12th by the Associated Press, has won three of its last four games, falling 65-60 over Syracuse on Feb. 24 in its last game as the Fighting Irish shot 34.7 percent from the field. Notre Dame is off for eight days before facing the Cardinals.
Five Fighting Irish players are averaging at least 9.2 points per game this season, led by Jerian Grant (16.9 ppg, 6.6 apg). Notre Dame ranks fourth nationally in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.63) and fourth in fewest turnovers per game (9.3). Notre Dame is 6-2 on the road in ACC play, its most conference road wins ever for the Fighting Irish.
Louisville has a 20-12 series advantage over Notre Dame. Louisville has won the last two meetings, including a 69-57 victory in the last matchup in the semifinals of the Big East Tournament in Madison Square Garden as Russ Smith scored 20 points and handed out six assists to lead the Cardinals (3-15-13). The Cardinals have won 15 of the last 20 against the Irish. Eight of the last 15 have been decided in overtime.
CARDINAL NOTES:
• Louisville’s academic performance in the recently completed fall semester was impressive, with 15 of its 16 men’s basketball student-athletes achieving a 3.0 or better grade point average. The Cardinals posted a collective 3.33 GPA for the 2014 Fall Semester, just short of the team record of 3.47 achieved last fall.
• Louisville’s 119 victories over the last four years are tied with Wichita State for the most wins in the nation in that stretch. Louisville is the only school in the nation with three straight 30-win seasons, including a school-record 35 victories by its 2012-13 NCAA Title team.
• Terry Rozier has scored 22 or more points six times in the last 11 games, including 22 points at Georgia Tech (18 in the second half). He is fourth in the ACC in scoring (17.4 ppg) and second in steals.
• In its nine ACC road games this season, Louisville has shot a collective 48 percent from the field, while connecting on 37.2 percent in its seven league home games. UofL has shot above 47 percent from the field on 13 occasions this season.
• Louisville has a 25-4 record during the month of March over the last three years.
• Wayne Blackshear was honored as a Capital One Academic All-America second team selection on Feb. 26.
• Quentin Snider has averaged 10 points and four assists with just five turnovers in UofL’s three games without Chris Jones.
• UofL has produced its 13th consecutive season with 20 or more victories.
